21 N.C. Admin. Code 46 .1503 - EXPERIENCE IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACY INTERNSHIP
(a) An
applicant for license must show that the applicant has received 1500 hours of
practical experience under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist which has
been acquired while enrolled in a school of pharmacy accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
(b) All practical pharmacy experience gained
within the State of North Carolina must be acquired as follows:
(1) All practical pharmacy experience must be
validated through registration in the internship program administered by the
Board. A person does not receive credit for any practical experience unless and
until that person is registered with the Board as a pharmacy intern.
(2) Practical experience shall be credited
only when it has been obtained in a location holding a pharmacy permit, or a
location approved by the Board for practical experience, and only after the
pharmacy intern notifies the Board of the location of the practical experience.
If the pharmacy intern's location of employment changes, the pharmacy intern
must notify the Board of the change before commencing an internship at the new
location.
(3) The person acquiring
practical experience shall at all times comply with the Board's rules and the
laws governing the practice of pharmacy and the distribution of drugs. Failure
of the pharmacist intern to do so is grounds to disqualify the experience from
counting toward the minimum requirements.
(4) The Board shall accept hours of
experience certified by the school from which the applicant has graduated,
provided that the applicant has satisfied Subparagraphs (1)-(3) of this
Paragraph. The Board shall not allow credit for claims of practical experience
required under the pharmacy laws, unless such claims can be corroborated by
records on file in the Board's office showing the beginning and the ending of
the practical experience claimed as supplied by the applicant during this
training period.
(c) A
person is eligible to register or renew and be employed as a pharmacy intern
only if, and so long as, the person is:
(1)
Currently enrolled in a pharmacy school accredited by the Accreditation Council
for Pharmacy Education. In order to qualify as "enrolled" in a pharmacy school,
the student must be attending pharmacy school at the time, or on a break
between academic terms;
(2) A
graduate of a foreign school of pharmacy who has successfully completed the
Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination offered by the National
Association of Boards of Pharmacy and the Test of English as a Foreign Language
and who is acquiring the practical experience required for licensure;
(3) A pharmacist licensed in another state
who is gaining practical experience required for a license by reciprocity under
Rule .1602 of this Chapter;
(4) A
pharmacist with an inactive North Carolina license who is gaining practical
experience required for reinstatement of a license under Rule .1612 of this
Chapter;
(5) A graduate of a school
of pharmacy who has not been licensed in any State, who has not been denied a
license in any State, who has an active application for licensure to practice
pharmacy in North Carolina and who has met all requirements for licensure other
than taking and passing the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination and
the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination, and who is gaining practical
experience to prepare for the examination in order to achieve
licensure.
(d) In order
to register or renew as a pharmacy intern, an applicant must submit proof of
eligibility under Paragraph (c) of this Rule. The applicant further must
provide releases for the Board to verify the applicant's eligibility, including
confirming enrollment in or graduation from pharmacy school.
(e) Pharmacy intern registrations are valid
until the September 1 immediately following registration. If the person remains
eligible for registration as a pharmacy intern, the registration shall be
renewed between August 1 and September 1 of the year in which the registration
expires. If the registration expires for a pharmacy intern, that person is not
eligible to work as a pharmacy intern in the State of North Carolina unless and
until the registration is reinstated after a new application.
(f) If a pharmacy intern ceases to be
eligible to be registered and employed as a pharmacy intern under Paragraph (c)
of this Rule, that person must immediately cease working as a pharmacy intern
and must notify the Board within five calendar days of a change in status and
request that the person's registration be made inactive.
(g) The Board may accept practical experience
gained in another state pursuant to internship registration in this or another
state if the Board is satisfied that such experience is equivalent.
(h) A registered pharmacy intern working
under a pharmacist preceptor or supervising pharmacist may, while under
supervision of that pharmacist, perform all acts constituting the practice of
pharmacy. Because the pharmacy intern may perform all acts constituting the
practice of pharmacy under supervision under this provision, doing so without
being registered with the Board is the unlicensed practice of
pharmacy.
(i) A supervising
pharmacist, pharmacist preceptor, or pharmacist-manager who causes or permits a
pharmacy intern to violate any laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the
practice of pharmacy or the distribution of drugs forfeits his or her right to
supervise pharmacy interns and is subject to additional disciplinary action. A
supervising pharmacist, pharmacist preceptor, or pharmacist-manager who
violates any laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the supervision of
pharmacy interns forfeits his or her right to supervise pharmacy interns and is
subject to additional disciplinary action. This includes, but is not limited
to, making false representations or withholding material information about the
pharmacy intern's practical experience or employing a pharmacy intern who is
not registered with the Board. A pharmacist who has been found in violation of
laws, rules, or regulations governing the practice of pharmacy and the
distribution of drugs cannot serve as a supervising pharmacist or pharmacist
preceptor without the approval by the Board.
(j) The Board may consider any of the acts
set forth in
G.S.
90-85.38(a) that are
committed by a pharmacy intern in considering whether to grant that person a
license to practice pharmacy or what conditions are appropriate to ensure that
the person can practice pharmacy safely.
(k) The practical experience hours gained
prior to the effective date of any amendment to this Rule are governed by the
requirements of this Rule in effect at the time the hours were
obtained.
Notes
Eff. April 1, 1983;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2004; September 1, 1993; April 1, 1992; October 1, 1990; May 1, 1989.
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. October 3, 2017.
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